Baby carriage skis



June 22, 1948. G. M. SWAIN 2,443,699

BABY CARRIAGE SKIS Filed Jan. 2, 1947 George Markzy Swain Patented June 22, 1948 iJNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to skis for baby carriages liable attachment for enabling a baby carriage to be easil propelled over snow and ice, and one which will afford ample security against accidents arising from its use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a demountable ski which can be readily attached and removed from the running gear of a baby carriage, and one which provides for secure and safe attachment.

Still another object is to produce a ski attachment incorporating telescopic runner parts to enable the ski to be adjusted to suit different spacing of wheel-axles in order that it may be applied to different makes and sizes of baby carriages, and in order that when dismounted it can be taken apart and compactly stored.

A still further object is to provide a detachable mounting adapted for securing a. ski to standard makes of baby carriages in a simple manner.

Having briefly related the major objects of the invention, other objects and advantageous features will appear from the ensuing specification and drawing.

The drawing illustrates the preferred construction of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the invention showing it applied to a baby carriage.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a fragment of the ski showing a saddle, in section, for seating a wheel.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the ski taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary aspect of the ski viewed from its inner side.

Fig. 5 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing the telescoping inner ends of the ski runner or body.

Fig. 6 is an end view of Fig. 1 omitting parts of the carriage.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a cleat plate for anchoring chains.

The invention comprehends a structure in which two independent skis are used to support a baby carriage for travelling on snow and ice. The skis are of identical construction and each is located at a side of the vehicle and applied to the single-file wheels thereat. Hence a description of one will suffice.

The ski is formed as a runner, denoted as a whole b the character A, for attachment to two wheels B in tandem such as those at one side of a baby carriage of a standard type represented at C in Fig. l. The axles of said wheels are indicated at D. which axles have a spring suspension, such as that denoted at E. The wheels and their axles along with the spring suspension form the ordinary running gear of the vehicle.

Inearrying out the invention both ends 8 of the runner A are curved upwardly preferably in scroll formation, as shown, in order to enhance the. appearance of the ski. Near each end of said runner there is provided a saddle 9 which is a member curved through its length to conform substantially to the diameter of a Wheel and which is of a U-shape in cross section for seating the wheel so that it will rest firmly in place. The well of the saddle is desirably lined with leather or other material suited to preclude its defacing the enamel finish of the wheel. Such a lining is indicated at ID. A bowed plate I! rigidly secures the saddle to said runner.

The runner is desirably made of tubular metal rod and is formed in two similar sections l2 and l2 whose inner ends i3 and I3 are telescopically interfitted. These inner ends are detailed in Fig. 5, and it will be noted that each is slotted as indicated at [4. The slots extend lengthwise of said ends and enable one of the ends to expand and the other to contract in the assembly of the sections. A secure friction fit is thus afforded. Means may be provided to detachably secure said sections when interfitted. For example the section l2 may be supplied with a nodule it at its inner end struck up from the material and adapted to engage in an aperture it in the inner end of the other section |2see Fig. 5. The interfitting connection of the said sections provides for their being taken apart when the ski is not in use. The ski can be stored compactly until it is wanted. The telescopic sections may and will be made so that the ski can be adjusted lengthwise in order that the distance between the saddles will conform to the spacing of the axles of different makes of baby carriages. Therefore a ski of the present invention can be fitted to any standard baby carriage.

Suitable means are supplied for the purpose of anchoring the ski to the running gear of the carriage. Such means comprises chains having a connection with the axles. To make the connection a cleat plate ii is applied to each axle, D, and is of a U-shape so as to detachably fit thereon-as best shown in Fig. 7. The cleat plate has eye or book parts it oppositely arranged. A chain I9 is connected at an end to an adjacent end, 8, of the runner and looped through an eye of the cleat plate and fastened in a taut condition by means of a hook 2 3. An oppositely extended chain 2| is secured at an end to the intermediate part of the runner and looped through the other eye of the cleat plate and fastened by a hook 22 in a taut condition. This arrangement functions to retain each of the wheels B in the saddles of the ski. In order to remove the ski it is only necessary to disconnect the looped end of the chains.

At the inner side of each saddle a perch bar 23 is arranged to extend upwardly therefrom to afford a supporting connection for the axle of the respective wheel. The upper end of the perch bar 23 is forked as at 24 to seat the axle. The lower end is adjustably attached to the saddle as by its being fitted loosely in a pierced boss 25 and secured by a, headed screw 25. The construction provides for vertical adjustment of the perch bar for different sized wheels,

From the preceding description it will be manifest that the invention provides an attractive and serviceable ski attachment for the purpose described which can be manufactured at low cost. Also, it will be understood that While a practical form of the invention is disclosed, such changes and modifications of the construction may be resorted to as come Within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a ski attachment for a baby carriage or the like, a ski in the form of a runner for supporting single file wheels at a side of the carriage, said runner having an upturned end, a saddle mounted on said runner, said saddle being curved through its length to conform substantially to the diameter of a wheel and being of a U-shape in cross section to provide a well for seating the wheel, a U-shaped cleat plate adapted to be invertedly engaged with the wheel-axle and having oppositely arranged eye parts, a chain secured at an end to the upturned end of said runner and adapted to be fastened to one of said eye parts in the form of a loop, and a chain secured at an end to said runner oppositely to said upturned end thereof and adapted to be fastened to the other of said eye parts in the form of a loop.

2. In a ski attachment for a baby carriage or the like, a ski in the form of a runner for supporting single file wheels thereof at a side of the carriage, saddles mounted on said runner to provide wells each receptive to a wheel for seating the same, perch bars mounted on said saddles for vertical adjustment and having forked ends for engaging the axles of said wheels, and flexible devices for detachably connecting said runner to said axles.

3. A ski attachment as defined in claim 2, in which each perch bar is mounted by means of an apertured element in which it is fitted for vertical adjustment and secured by a screw.

4. A ski attachment for a baby carriage or the like comprising a tubular runner formed in two similar sections having inner ends telescopically interfitted, latching means for said inner ends, a saddle mounted on each of said sections and curved through its length to conform to the diameter of a, wheel, each saddle being of a U-shape in cross section to provide a Well receptive to a wheel for seating the same, a perch bar upstanding from each saddle and having a forked upper end for engaging a Wheel-axle, and chain devices for detachably connecting said runner to each axle.

GEORGE MORLEY SWAIN.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 382,491 Riexinger May 8, 1888 395,398 Lewis Jan. 1, 1889 596,414 McNaughton Dec. 28, 1897 970,874 Befiel Sept. 20, 1910 1,077,524 Gledhdll Nov. 4, 1913 1,095,381 Clark May 5, 1914 1,657,534 Gingold Jan. 31, 1928 2,352,966 Morando July 4, 19 A 

